Actor Ed Skrein has left his role as Major Ben Daimio in the upcoming reboot of "Hellboy" after learning that the original character was of mixed heritage.
The "Deadpool" actor, 34, announced his exit via an Instagram post.
"It is clear that representing this character in a culturally accurate way holds significance for people, and that to neglect this responsibility would continue a worrying tendency to obscure ethnic minority stories and voices in the Arts," he wrote. "I feel it is important to honour and respect that. Therefore I have decided to step down so the role can be cast appropriately."
The creator of the comics, Mike Mignola, thanked Skrein on Twitter and praised the actor's actions.
"Hellboy" producers Larry Gordon and Lloyd Levin told Deadline that they fully support Skrein's decision.
"It was not our intent to be insensitive to issues of authenticity and ethnicity, and we will look to recast the part with an actor more consistent with the character in the source material," they added.
Skrein's decision and the whitewashing controversies plaguing Hollywood films followed similar instances such as Scarlett Johansson's role as a Japanese human-cyborg in "Ghost in the Shell" (2017) and Tilda Swinton's role as the Asian The Ancient One in "Doctor Strange" (2016).
The "Hellboy" reboot begins shooting in October. Sources said that Skrein's departure will not cause a delay in production. The film stars David Harbour as Hellboy.
In the comics, Major Ben Daimio was a member of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. He was a U.S. Marine who returned from the dead. Daimio assisted the bureau in planning and executing its war against supernatural threats.
The original "Hellboy" (2004) followed the titular character as he aided the bureau in protecting America against dark forces.
"Hellboy" is expected to be released in 2018.
